Expertly made Solid Oak Porches

First impressions matter, so an awe-inspiring solid oak porch on your doorstep is bound to impress. The rustic grandeur of a porch is a warm, homely welcome for you and your guests.

When buying a porch from Oak Timber Structures, we deliver the highest quality.

First, we only use QPA and QP1 graded European solid oak. This is the highest grade available for construction.

What's this mean?

As the highest grade oak, the wood bears no defects as found on lower grade oak beams. What's more, we source our oak from sustainable forests.

Then, it's over to our skilled artisans whose years of experience and carpentry skills come to the fore.

They'll cut every beam with precision and plane each section of the oak framed porch. After a light sanding for a smooth finish, it's time to sculpt the joinery.

Using traditional mortise and tenon joints, each section connects to make a robust structure. All holes are pre-drilled and ready for joining with the supplied kiln dried oak pegs. We understand that as oak loses moisture, it shrinks, so we use this to tighten the joints over time.

Before the oak porch leaves the yard, we'll erect the porch to make sure it's a perfect fit. Not to mention, we'll code each section before dismantling to make for easy assembly upon delivery.

Whatever the size of the porch, the manufacturing remains the same. Rest assured, we take pride in our work regardless of size or cost.

Once assembled by a builder, solid oak framed porches add natural elegance to any home, boasting luxurious looks when walking up to the property.

Have you got a design unattainable through the 3D designer? Don't worry. Do a quick sketch and email it over to us at and call us on 01889 597 283.

How Your Kit Form Oak Porch Will Arrive

Your solid oak porch arrives on a pre-arranged date and time. We'll liaise with you to find the best time and won't turn up unannounced.

We'll deliver the porch packaged and in kit form, as shown in the below picture.

If the porch requires brickwork, it's advised to get this built beforehand. Allow time for the mortar to dry before building the porch on top.

Included in the package are timber parts, such as braces, beams, rafters and joints. Joints are ready for assembly upon arrival. Mortise and tenon joints are in place with pre-drilled holes for the oak pegs.

The oak porch frame will hold together with everything in the pack. Depending on whether the porch has a roof, you'll need stainless steel screws to attach battens.

Remember never to use iron screws or nails. As oak has a high tannin content, this causes a chemical reaction which erodes iron. So make sure you use stainless steel screws.

Because the woodwork is complete, it's common to hire a builder to assemble it. Within the package, we supply a 'Parts Identification Drawing'. This drawing labels each part and corresponds with the coding on the porch beams to make for easy assembly.

Gallery Selection

Want some more inspiration? Check out the gallery section which showcases our solid oak porches once assembled and in situ.

What your oak porch could look like

Follow us on instagram for more news updates and finished projects!

A video of one our oak porch kits supplied with cedar roof shingles and cut to size oak roof boarding. We also supplied the solid oak front door. #oaktimberstructures #oakporch #kingposttruss #oakboards #oakboard #cedarshingles #oakfrontdoor #solidoak #europeanoak

A post shared by Oak Timber Structures Ltd (@oaktimberstructures) on Feb 13, 2018 at 1:57am PST

See more porch photos in our general photo gallery.

Using Our 3D Oak Porch Designer

The world's first 3D oak porch designer makes light work of devising a bespoke oak porch. Here’s how each control sculpts the design.

Porch Design

In the 'Porch Design' section, you'll find controls to shape the fundamental aesthetics of the porch. Including styles, fixing and size, this category is the best place to start.

Porch Style

The 3D designer has three porch styles, these are 'Straight Tie Beam', 'Canopy' and 'Curved Tie Beam'.

• Straight Tie Beam: The tie beam is the horizontal solid oak timber connecting the two upright posts. With a straight tie beam style, this is square to the structure.
• Canopy: A canopy style porch doesn't meet the ground. It's suspended onto an existing wall using two brace plates.
• Curved Tie Beam: A curved tie beam porch has a similar design to the straight tie beam. The fundamental difference is the horizontal timber is arced.
• Lean To: Sometimes referred to as mono-pitch, lean to porches feature a sloping roof style akin to a lean to.

Fixing

With the straight and curved tie beams, there's a choice of fixing. Fixing determines how the porch attaches to the wall. Choices are 'Into Wall', 'Rear Canopy' and 'Rear Posts'.

• Into Wall: With this design, the front upright posts and existing wall take the weight of the porch. At the rear part of the porch, where it meets the house, headplates and the ridge beam go into the wall. This requires the removal of small areas of brickwork to accommodate posts and offers a clean look.
• Rear Canopy: With a rear canopy porch, there are two half post wall brackets at the back that fix to the wall. These two brace plates suspend the porch alongside the front posts.
• Rear Posts: The rear posts are the same size as the front posts. This means that the porch is free standing. With little integration into the existing wall, it's a minimal fuss approach.

Size

Every home is different, so the size controls help create porches of varying sizes. We take measurements from the outer part of the posts.

To the finest margins, the designer allows for changes as little as 0.1m (10cm) in width and depth. While the roof pitch is adjustable in 0.05m (5cm) stages.

• Width: Select your porch width of between 1.4m and 4.0m.
• Depth: The depth is the distance from the porch entry to the door. This ranges from 0.8m to 2.0m.
• Roof Height: The roof height can be between 0.3m to 1.8m. When adjusting the roof height, the designer updates to show the overall porch height. Changing the roof height also alters the roof pitch. What pitch angle depends on the width and height of the roof.

All options and changes update the 3D designer in real time giving you a visual representation of each change. Want sizes outside these ranges? It's as simple as sending us your drawings sketches to our email and we’ll come back to your with a quote.

Thickness

The thickness control decides the cross-section size of upright posts, topplates, tie beams and king posts.

The choices are:

• 150mm
• 175mm
• 200mm

The thickness won't affect structural integrity, so deciding what size is a matter of preference.

Thicker posts offer a more rustic aesthetic, on the other hand, thinner posts and beams create a more contemporary style.

Trusses

Porches have a triangular-shaped frame on the top known as a truss. The 3D porch designer has four different trusses to select.

Queen Truss

Unlike a king truss, a queen truss has no central upright beam. It has two diagonal beams that run from the tie beam to the principal rafters.

King Truss

King trusses have a central vertical post running from the tie beam to the central peak where principal rafters connect. Alongside the vertical post are two diagonal braces.

King Shaped Truss

A king shaped truss follows a similar pattern to the king truss. The fundamental distinction is the two diagonal running braces and the king post. With a king shaped truss, these braces have a curve and arch towards the rafters and the king post is shaped at the top and bottom rather than straight.

Truss Struts

Offering a unique and modern aesthetic is the truss strut design. This truss has symmetrical upright posts running from the tie beam to the rafters. The number of struts depends on the width of the porch.

Boarding | Battens | Roofing

This section highlights the available roofing options. If you intend to supply your own tiles, be sure to select ‘No roof’.

Boarding

By sitting on top of the rafters, boarding covers the underside of tiles or shingles and battens. Boarding offers a neat and uniform timber look to the inner underside of the porch.

There are three boarding timbers available:

• Larch
• Cedar
• Oak
• Boarding is an aesthetic choice, so select 'None' for a porch without.

Battens

Battens are essential for fixing roofing to shingles or tiles. They are the pieces of timber that run at a right angle to the rafters. We can supply either softwood or oak battens.

For porches with boarding, battens aren't visible, so the more affordable softwood battens are ideal. That said, oak battens offer prime looks and quality. So for porches without boarding, the oak battens are a splendid choice that coordinate well with the oak porch frame.

For roofless porches, or if you'd prefer to source your own battens, select the 'No Battens' button.

Roofing

The roofing section decides whether the porch comes with cedar shingles. We offer two types of cedar shingles, treated or untreated.

Cedar shingles with no treatment have a lifetime of approx 20 years. The length of cedars' life is mostly determined by environmental circumstances. You can extend the life of shingles by treating them.

We do offer cedar shingles that have been pretreated with a weatherproofing solution; they last around 5 years longer. When exposed to damp conditions, treated shingles have a higher resistance to mould.

Please note that treated shingles will have a deeper colour from the start. Yet, both treated and untreated shingles will develop a silver hue through exposure to UV rays.

With the quality of materials and craftsmanship, our porches are strong. They’ll support the weight of other shingles and tiles, whether made from slate, clay or another material. If supplying your own tiles, select ‘No Roof’.

Footings

This section decides what features where the porch meets the ground. There are four choices with footings, 'Normal Posts', 'Staddle Stones', 'Wall' and 'Into Ground'.

Normal Posts

For no footing extras, select 'Normal Posts'. With this choice, upright posts extend to meet the ground. Footings are a preference, but further protection, lifting out of standing water extends the lifespan of an oak porch.

Staddle Stones

Staddle stones are non-porous blocks of stone with a metal rod protruding through the top. By drilling a hole into the bottom of the upright posts, the porch sits on top of the staddle stones. They're easy to install and offer a powerful visual. In addition, the non-porous qualities protect oak porches against standing water. The metal rod keeps the oak in place and stops it kicking out as it weathers, the post does not rest on the pin itself.

Wall

Combining an oak porch frame with brickwork is a timeless combination. Select 'Wall' for a porch that sits on the brickwork. Selecting the 'Wall’ option opens additional controls.

Dwarf Wall Size

The dwarf wall size is the height of the brickwork. By stipulating the height of the brickwork, we can measure the oak posts to fit. The height from ground to eaves remains the same. This setting is a guide to making your own brickwork.

• 225mm
• 450mm
• 675mm

We can adjust the structure to any other brickwork heights.

Wallplate

Here you can select wallplate or no wallplate. The wallplate is a piece of oak as wide as your porch posts to place ontop of the dwarf wall between the posts.

Tie Beam Text

Name your porch! Using our engraving service, you can add up to 20 characters across your porch tie beam making it truly personal to you.

Porch Styles

Every porch is completely bespoke, so we can make you any style at any size. Send your sketches through to us for a quotation.

Why Buy Your Porch From Oak Timber Structures Ltd

Here at Oak Timber Structures, our team has accumulated over 100 years of experience in the timber industry. Such knowledge is indispensable for creating a bespoke oak porch. Furthermore, we use our years of experience to help customers accomplish any oak porch. We are here at every step.

• High Quality oak products
• High Quality customer service

We are proud of the quality of our oak structures. From the grade of the European oak to the intricate detail in craftsmanship. We strive for the best in both product quality and customer relations.

The strongest and most elegant oak structures start with the best timber. But that's just the beginning. Working with timber, especially oak, requires skills and expertise. Bespoke to order we craft each oak porch to the highest standards.

Our passion for oak is at the heart of our inspiration. As Steve Jobs once said, "...the only way to produce great work is to love what you do".

Our innovative porch 3D designer and pricing matrix offers a tailored buying experience designing a bespoke oak porch. Watch your new timber porch design take shape as you alter dimensions and specs.

Kiss goodbye to random quotes. With instant and transparent pricing, you can watch the cost change as you alter the design. It's yet another way we strive to innovate and establish a tailored buying experience for our clients.

Our 3D Solid Oak Porch Designer

We're proud of the world's first web-based 3D oak porch designer. There's no software download or high-tech computers needed.

Embedded into our website, all that’s needed are an internet connection and web browser. So, on a smartphone, laptop, or any other device, you can design an oak porch in the comfort of your own home.

The innovative 3D oak porch designer makes designing easy. By specifying all aspects, oak porches take shape in real-time. As the oak porch evolves to specific needs, the pricing updates.

Why not create a bespoke oak porch with our online designer located at the top of this page?

Go to the porch designer.

How To Order Your Oak Framed Porches

Ordering from Oak Timber Structures is straightforward. Nevertheless, our team is on hand to help throughout the process. Here are the simple steps to order a bespoke oak porch:

1. First, create the oak porch using the designer or send drawings to contact@oaktimberstructures.co.uk.
2. For online orders, click ‘Add to Basket’.
3. Navigate to your shopping basket where you can checkout securely online. We accept all major credit cards excluding American Express (as image). If you run into any checkout issues, please contact us using the online chat or call us and we’ll talk you through the process. Alternatively, you can order over the phone.
4. We then produce technical drawings for you to sign off and gain approval from a structural engineer if needed. CAD drawings take between 2 - 5 working days to produce.
5. If you are unhappy with an aspect of the drawings, we encourage you to call and seek advice from our helpful and friendly staff. They’ll revise the drawings accordingly and send them back to you for re-approval.
6. Once signed off, we add your structure to the production queue and create it according to the stated lead times. During this time, many people use the approved drawings to get their groundwork in place if required.
7. Our skilled team assembles the oak porch to make sure there are no issues. This also allows us to code all components for seamless assembly. We then dismantle the porch and organise it into transportable kit form.
8. If you're running behind schedule, we're happy to store your structure for up to 2 to 3 weeks at no extra charge. Please note that we limit storage to this time. As green oak dries, it shrinks. Shrinkage is normal. In fact, our skilled staff prepares your structure for shrinkage to fuse joints, making them tighter and more robust. Yet, after 2 to 3 weeks, joints can become misaligned and harder to assemble, so it's important to limit storage time.
9. We schedule delivery by liaising with you once your bespoke oak porch is complete.